Cost of living comparison
compared to
Bern vs. Brussels Cost of Living Summary
Bern is 27.4% more expensive than Brussels.
Bern vs. Brussels Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Bern instead of Brussels, you would:
pay 29.2% more for restaurants
|
Brussels
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.39
€19.93
|
$28.80
CHF23.79
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.12
€13.45
|
$15.60
CHF12.88
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.73
€3.32
|
$6.23
CHF5.15
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$3.11
€2.77
|
$6.97
CHF5.76
|
|
Brussels vs. Bern - Cost of restaurants
pay 15.7% more for groceries
|
Brussels
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.75
€2.45
|
$2.95
CHF2.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.91
€7.93
|
$12.12
CHF10.01
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.00
€4.45
|
$8.18
CHF6.75
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.29
€4.71
|
$7.71
CHF6.37
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.97
€5.32
|
$13.20
CHF10.90
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.40
€1.24
|
$1.76
CHF1.46
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.09
€0.97
|
$0.91
CHF0.75
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.27
€1.13
|
$1.20
CHF0.99
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.87
€1.67
|
$2.09
CHF1.73
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.14
€1.01
|
$0.72
CHF0.60
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.00
€0.89
|
$0.91
CHF0.75
|
|
Brussels vs. Bern - Cost of groceries
pay 31.9% more for transportation
|
Brussels
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.99
€7.11
|
$8.82
CHF7.29
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$62.71
€55.81
|
$98.40
CHF81.27
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,462.03
€31,562.48
|
$42,598.89
CHF35,183.79
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.27
€18.94
|
$44.64
CHF36.87
|
|
Brussels vs. Bern - Cost of transportation
pay 23.1% more for housing
|
Brussels
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$51.88
€46.18
|
$54.60
CHF45.09
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,339.95
€1,192.60
|
$1,861.45
CHF1,537.43
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,154.19
€1,027.27
|
$1,408.46
CHF1,163.29
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$215.91
€192.17
|
$207.74
CHF171.58
|
|
Brussels vs. Bern - Cost of housing
pay 27.0% more for childcare
|
Brussels
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,603.72
€1,427.37
|
$3,125.25
CHF2,581.25
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$36,825.21
€32,775.76
|
$30,462.54
CHF25,159.99
|
|
Brussels vs. Bern - Cost of childcare
pay 64.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Brussels
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.60
€4.98
|
$9.00
CHF7.43
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.44
€3.96
|
$6.78
CHF5.60
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.44
€11.96
|
$11.23
CHF9.28
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$32.93
€29.31
|
$88.38
CHF72.99
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.68
€14.85
|
$24.00
CHF19.82
|
|
Brussels vs. Bern - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 36.2% more for clothing
|
Brussels
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$101.94
€90.73
|
$139.98
CHF115.62
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.03
€40.97
|
$60.81
CHF50.22
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$109.64
€97.58
|
$155.71
CHF128.60
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.15
€130.08
|
$194.99
CHF161.05
|
|
Brussels vs. Bern - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: Brussels vs. Bern
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Belgium vs. Switzerland.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Belgium and Switzerland.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Bern or Brussels. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.